I blew out a long breath. A knock came from our right.
We looked.
The man in the white cape raced down the hall.
“The other one is here!” I yelled. “We’ve got another one!”
The door opened behind us, but I was already racing down the hallway. This time, Max couldn’t keep up. This time, no one was around to get in my way. And with White Cape, he was beaten and bruised. He’d probably been waiting for everything to go silent so he could rush out to escape.
Kaz’s men sounded behind me.
I got right on a limping and stumbling White Cape.
He turned around, yelled, and fell back into the wall.
Rushing to him, I aimed and shot. No bullets came out.
Fuck. I didn’t have bullets this whole time?
I dropped the gun and jumped on the guy. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. He couldn’t get away, and Kaz’s men were near.
I just needed him to trip or fall. It didn’t matter if White Cape got a hit in or not, it would slow him down. I dove and fell on him, grabbing his arm. Already battered, he crashed to the ground.
“Get over here.” I wrapped my arm around his neck.
We both fell, him gasping and me screaming. I didn’t know what we looked like as we wrestled to the floor, but Kaz’s men paused a bit before they dragged us apart.
Maxwell arrived and doubled over. “Jesus fucking Christ! This place is worse than New York!”
When Kaz got there, the whole space went silent as he glared at me.
All I could do was smile.
I rose from the ground. My gown was now ripped on the side.
Three men dragged White Cape away.
My right earring fell from my ear. I had no idea if the left one was still hanging on.
Kaz watched me. “Everyone, give us some space.”
They left, including Max. I came close to asking Max to let me hold his gun. Kaz didn’t appear pleased at my catching the man at all.
Eight
Kazimir
She could’ve died! And she stands there grinning?!
Em’s arm had wrapped around the man’s neck. Every few seconds, she had let him breathe before choking him some more. It took three men before she would let him go.
The vision did contradicting things to my head. I loved and hated it. I was proud and pissed at the same time.
I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. “You didn’t have bullets in the gun when you ran up on him?”
She let out an exasperated breath.
“You could’ve died.”
She opened her mouth in surprise but didn’t respond.
I pointed at the gun. “Where did you get that anyway?”
“From a friend.”
I stepped close to her. “You sound angry. You may want to calm down. Trust me on that.”
She pointed at the guy. “You could’ve died also.”
“My men were on it.”
She cleared her throat. “I want to be with you when you talk to them.”
I grimaced. “No.”
“We need to find out—”
My word came out as a growl. “Mysh.”
She pursed her lips.
I leaned her way, lowering my eye level to hers. “You may not know this, but I’m pretty good at getting information from people.”
She blinked.
“I’m also really good at keeping myself alive.”
She rolled her eyes.
I could count on my hand how many people had rolled their eyes at me. And for all the ones that had, none had been breathing today. But she would survive. Did she know the power she held on me?
She was getting comfortable. And why wouldn’t she? She’d been naked as I moved inside of her. There was a new type of intimacy between us. None that the other men or women shared with me. She knew how I looked in moments of passion, how I whispered when I moaned, how I begged for her to never stop giving me that pussy. She knew how much I needed her again. How much I held myself back when we were separated. Already, it was happening. Her trapping me as I trapped her. And damned if she didn’t know.
She knew.
“What am I doing wrong?” she asked.
So innocent. But damned if she knew that she had me.
I did my best to keep my voice calm. “You don’t run off with a gun to kill anybody anymore. You’re in a new position.”
“Excuse me?” Her expression shifted to professional. She was now the person I’d met long ago, the first time in the art gallery. “My understanding was that my job was to protect you.”
Protect me?!
I would’ve laughed, if not for my uncle and her friend possibly dying several rooms away. “You don’t protect me, mysh. I protect you.”
Her next words came out with a bite. “I’ve saved your life twice now.”
She had a point, but she could’ve died. And I didn’t like how much that fact scared me. She was right in every way. Had she been any other man or woman working for me, she would’ve had money in her account the next day. I would’ve been happy to stand next to her.
But she was different…
I inched closer. “No.”
“No?” She edged back and hit the wall.
I moved forward, softly pressing against her chest and showing my dominance.
Her breath hitched.
I took her lips, drinking her in.
Moaning, she pulled away from my mouth. “I…am me…I saw them…I tried to protect you and…”
“No, your job is not to protect me. I protect you.”
She shook her head and tried to explain.
I cut her off. “No.”
“But they were going to kill you—”
“You’re mine!” I roared. My whole body quaked with the finality. People stirred down the hallway. Others left the area.
“You stay safe and by my side.” It was impossible to keep the anger out of my voice. “You don’t run off to partake…in a fucking gun fight…with a gun that has no bullets!”
She shrank back.
I calmed myself and adjusted my tie, taking the damn thing off and throwing it to the floor.
She remained quiet and didn’t look my way.
“I’m sorry I yelled just now.”
Her voice was low. “I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m grateful for that, but I have more bullets than you and more men.” I pulled her into me. She relaxed against my chest. “You don’t like orders. I only know how to give them. With you, I’ll learn another way, but for now, I want you out of this.”
She looked up. “I’m not your brains?”
“No. You’re just mine.”
“I’m not.” She moved a little and tried to leave my hold, but I wouldn’t let it happen.
“I don’t want to just be yours,” she said. “That’s not a long-term situation. I would rather be your brains.”
“Why?”
“Because then, you couldn’t live without me.”
“Oh mysh.” I laughed. “I’m already seeing that I can’t live without you. You don’t need more importance. You don’t need me to be even more obsessed.”
Uncle Igor’s soldiers entered, awaiting my order and ready to kill someone over his injury.